Celebrations Found Part 1 Return to Marvenius
by Chewie-Fan
Summary: Sequel to Lost Celebrations. The Robinsons leave the safety of their adopted home planet and return to Marvenius to find medical help for Don and become involved in a battle for justice. DJ pairing.
1. Introduction

**Celebrations Found**

**Introduction**

**Professor John Robinson** (Guy Williams): Doctorate in Astrophysics and Planetary Geology. Interested in sports including football and fencing. Birthdate 1/14/57

**Maureen Robinson** (June Lockhart): Doctorate in Biochemistry. Interested in cooking, hydroponics and gardening. Birthdate 6/25/58

**Dr. & Dr. Robinson **were married on 6/10/77

**Judy Robinson** (Marta Kristen): Wanted to pursue a career in acting, singing and dancing. Birthdate 2/26/78

**Penny Robinson** (Angela Cartwright): Interested in zoology, classical music and literature. Birthdate 9/9/85

**Will Robinson** (Bill Mumy): Interested in geology, electronics, singing and playing the guitar. Birthdate 2/1/87

**Major Don West** (Mark Goddard): Air Force major. Interested in flying, cars and contact sports. Birthdate 7/24/73

**Dr. Zachary Smith** (Jonathan Harris): US Space Core staff psychologist. Specialized in Environmental Space Psychology. Birthdate 11/6/45

Above information was lifted from a website by M.Z. Gates, who summarized the biographies from The Alpha Control Reference Manual, published in 1986 by William Anchors and Gary Stork.

**Judy Robinson and Don West **were married on8/24/99

**DISCLAIMER**: Alas, the above characters do not belong to me, and I would never think of making any money off of them. I'm just reliving my childhood from an adult perspective.

**Original Characters (Are of my creation and, therefore, belong to me):**

**Appolus** (A blondish Matthew McCaughney type) From a powerful family.

**Gannon **(Similar to David Duchovney) Worked his way up to medical director on a ship.

**Phiscus** (A middle aged Peter Graves type) Medical doctor at spa and for Appolus' family.

**Kairon **(A youngish Keanu Reeves type) A masseuse at the spa.

**Counselor of Claims** (Would you believe a Mel Brooks look alike?) Religious Leader.

**Ronon **(Similar to Andy Garcia) A masseuse at the spa.

**Marcus** (Similar to Richard Gere) Medical doctor out of favor with the government.

**Scotter **(Like John Mahoney of Frazier) Retired soldier and mechanic at the yard.

**Prologue**

As you may recall, the previous year saw the Jupiter 2's crew experience a series of life changing events. Major West suffered a paralysis that he feared would interfere with his planned marriage to Judy Robinson. A chance encounter in space led the Jupiter to Marvenius, a planet housing a society that revered advanced technology yet disregarded human life. Although the family did not receive the hoped for aid from the citizens of Marvenius, a lifelong friendship was established with Kairon, a burgeoning rebel, and true love prevailed as Don and Judy were married.

After escaping the stifling societal structure of Marvenius, the family encountered a small creature that held amazing curative powers. This encounter would lead the family to become more involved in Marvenian society than they had ever expected. The little creature held the key to changing the future of not only the newly bonded couple, but of Marvenian society itself.


	2. Chapter 1

**Celebrations Found**

**Part 1**

**Return to Marvenius **

**Chapter 1**

Marvenius loomed ahead with its bands of green and red spinning before them. The family gathered in front of the flight console for one last meeting before landing and took a moment to admire the view before them.

"It looks like a Christmas ornament," Penny observed.

"It is beautiful," Maureen agreed.

"Indeed, but a beauty that is only skin-deep," Dr. Smith added.

Judy placed her hand on Don's shoulder and countered, "All I see is a planet that harbors a sexist society that exterminates the weak. There's nothing beautiful about that."

Don reached up and squeezed her hand. John looked upon his daughter and son-in-law and hoped that he wasn't making a mistake returning to this planet.

"Alright, family meeting time," John declared. He stood with his back to the view port and addressed the expectant faces before him.

"We all know that we are walking into a dangerous situation."

Don couldn't resist interrupting. "Have I mentioned how much I disagree with this mission?" An exasperated look from John drew an immediate, "Sorry."

The Professor continued. "We need to have some guidelines understood before we proceed. Our mission's goals are: first to determine if the rebellion is in existence and locate its forces; second to work through them in finding medical help for Don. Agreed?"

He waited for nods of assent and received them from all but one. "Don?"

Judy crouched down and stared at her husband, who glanced at her and then reluctantly nodded.

After silently praying for patience, John proceeded with the most difficult part of his directives. "We have to prepare for a worst-case scenario. You all know how to take off and fly the Jupiter. Once we land, the navigation computer will be set to automatically take you back to Carmella's planet. Each one of us will have a communication unit. If it happens that any of us are captured, the priority will be to save Penny and Will. Do you all understand this?"

This statement upset both children and Will shook his head in disagreement. "I don't understand. Why are we any more valuable than the rest of you?"

"It's not that you're more valuable, son, it's that you both have a longer future ahead of you. In addition," he stared at his wife and eldest daughter. "If Don or I are captured, I want no heroics from either of you. Your job is to protect the children. Is that understood?"

Judy and Maureen exchanged a knowing look and simultaneously stated, "Yes."

Dr. Smith interjected, "You can count on me to protect the children, Professor. I will lift-off with them at the first sign of trouble."

"Hold on there, Dr. Smith. I also don't want us to strand anyone who can easily return to the ship. If any of you decide it's time to leave the planet, give the all call signal on the communicator to warn us. I think a twenty-minute window of response should be enough to allow us to check-in before lift-off. Any questions?"

After waiting a few moments, he directed, "Let's get strapped in."

* * *

"Have we located the best place to land, Don?"

He nodded. "Robot?"

"We have, Professor Robinson," the Robot explained. The main settlement of Marvenius is the metropolis of your last visit that is located in the most fertile area of the planet. Other settlements are few and far between with minimal technological advancements as compared to the metropolitan area. Major West and I believe that the best location for landing without detection is the desert area immediately outside of the metropolis, as it does not appear to be monitored. It will, however, be an inhospitable place to camp for an extended period of time."

"Sounds perfect," John replied as he took in Don's countenance. He suspected that the stress of the mission would take its toll on him and was not surprised to see the pilot's face drawn in pain as they started the landing sequence. "Are you going to be all right?"

"Give me a minute." Don closed his eyes and brought his hand to his forehead, rubbing at the line between his eyebrows. Active visualization gave him limited relief and he brought his mind back to his last swim with Judy. That was enough to tone down his pain level so that he could concentrate on the task at hand. "Okay. Same procedure as last time."

The landing went smoothly and the family was as ready as they would ever be to begin their next adventure.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_March 5, 2000_

_We're back on Marvenius. The landing was the easy part. Now we have to find the rebellion, if it exists. Will volunteered to go into the town center and see what he could find out. No one seemed to notice him the last time we were here, so Dad agreed. We darkened his hair and I covered his freckles with make-up, so I don't think anyone would recognize him. Dad took him out to the edge of town on the hover bike and will wait for him there._

_Will can't do all of the spying himself, so Penny and I asked Dr. Smith to help us disguise ourselves as men. That got a good laugh out of Don. Well, I'll show him. The sooner we locate the rebellion, the sooner we can move out of this place. The desert is an awful place to be. We covered the Jupiter with sand, to camouflage it from any aircraft, but I think the sand found its way into every nook and cranny on board. One good sandstorm could sweep the outside of the Jupiter clean, but I think that it'll take years to get it all out of the interior._

_

* * *

  
_

It took little time for Will to discover that the Rebellion was indeed in existence. He and his father returned within two hours to share what they had discovered. The family gathered around them as John hopped off the bike.

"I am happy to report that the Rebellion is alive," the Professor stated.

"There were soldiers everywhere and I even saw a 'wanted' poster of Kairon," Will expounded.

"An increased military presence is going to make it hard for us. It's not too late to abort this mission, John," Don suggested.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that, Major. Now, where would be the most likely place for the Rebellion to hide?" John queried.

"In plain site?" Maureen offered.

"I don't think so, Maureen. Their sympathizers could, but Kairon and his closest men would need cover to operate." Don ventured, "My best guess is that they're in a place similar to where we are. Maybe one that has a cave system where they could set-up a base."

"Robot, are there any other areas around the perimeter of the metropolis that possibly has a cave system?" John asked.

"There are two, Professor Robinson. One is directly to our north and another is on the other side of the metropolis. The terrain is difficult to navigate. I would suggest that we take the Chariot to investigate."

An hour later, they found the northern cavern, but there was no sign of the rebels ever having been there. It was just large enough, however, to house the Jupiter out of the scorching sun. It was a tedious process to move the ship, but, after hearing every curse that Don knew, not once, but twice, they finally tucked it safely within the cave, although at a slightly odd angle.

As Don shut down the engines, he growled in frustration. "John, I'd like to add a third goal to our mission."

"Third?"

"To get that damn landing strut fixed."

* * *

Finding the rebellion was proving to be a bit more difficult than they expected. They decided to split their forces. John and Dr. Smith took the Chariot out to the other cave site. Don was supposed to take Will out to the edge of town so he could gather more information. When he went in search of the hover bike, it was nowhere to be found.

"Will, didn't your father store the bike in the Chariot's bay last night?"

"Yeah, isn't it there?"

"No." Realization dawned on him. "You don't think… Judy!"

He and Will raced through the ship calling her name and only found Maureen working in the makeshift lab.

"Mom, where are Judy and Penny?" Will asked.

"They're not here?"

"We can't find them."

Don rubbed his eyes as his pain level escalated "When they get back…"

"I am going to give them a piece of my mind!" Maureen finished.

* * *

Leaving the hover bike at the edge of town, Judy and Penny sauntered through the streets in their male disguises. They tried their best to look like forlorn teenagers and hoped that they could explore the city without confrontation from the military, just as Will had. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before they were accosted by a soldier.

"Waron li positus?"

They had no idea what they were being asked, but Penny produced the translator that Kairon had given her. She pointed to it and the soldier spoke again.

"Where's your armband?"

Speaking through the translator, Penny replied, "We were brought to this planet this morning and are looking for our sister and parents. Can you help us?"

"I will bring you to the men's barracks and you will be given shelter and an armband. You need an armband to travel about the city. Do not worry about your women. They are being well taken care of by our society."

They were loaded into a van-like hover vehicle and transported to the facility. After being discharged from the soldier's custody at the men's barracks, a clerk registered them and gave them brown armbands. Judy used the pseudonym of 'Jay North' and had Penny register under the name 'Dennis North.'

After the process was completed, they were brought to a cafeteria for the mid-day meal. It didn't take long for them to discern the meaning of the armbands. Most of the men eating wore brown ones, which they deduced signified off-worlders. The servers wore green, as Tier 3 males, and soldiers wore orange, as Tier 2. Only children wore no armbands at all.

While eating, she heard a number of different languages being spoken, but could have sworn that she heard the name "West" more than once. Using the translator, she and Penny were amazed to hear the story of "West and Appolus" from one of the servers. She glowed with pride as she realized that Don was considered a hero among the lowest classes of the society.

Anxious to get to their original reason for coming into town, which was to steal a hover bike, Penny and Judy tried to leave, but were stopped by a rather large soldier at the door.

"Gee, Jay, this must be like school. You can't leave until you're excused," Penny commented. They nonchalantly returned to their table and waited with everyone else while a soldier read a list of names and what they hoped were assignments for work details.

"Hey, Dennis, if we get separated, you do whatever you have to do to take care of yourself."

Penny knew that meant to return to the Jupiter and report what they had done. "Alright, Jay, I know what to do."

"North! Laundry. Ministry of Extermination."

They both stood up, horrified.

The soldier gave them a confused look and called, "North, Jay!" and waved Judy over.

Penny tried to calm her panic as she watched her sister being ushered out of the room. No other announcements were made, and she decided to bide her time until she could escape and return to the Jupiter.

* * *

Even though Judy knew she was entering the building to work, her fear escalated as she was brought down to the basement laundry facilities. She was shown how to operate the machinery and told to return to the barracks when she was done. Picking up a piece of clothing, she wondered who had worn it and why they had been exterminated. Nausea welled up, but she was able to beat it down by telling herself that she had a job to do and decided to turn the situation to her advantage. She procured several armbands, as well as two translators and a soldier's uniform. Slipping out a side door, she found it rather easy to steal a hover bike and make her way back to camp.

She breathed much more easily once she entered the desert area, and she congratulated herself on a job well done. Unfortunately, Don didn't share her enthusiasm. They crossed paths as she neared the cavern, and he swerved recklessly as he did a U-turn to confront her.

She had never seen him so angry. "What the hell did you think you were doing?!"

She spread her arms and held up the armbands. "Gathering supplies for our mission."

"Do you know what could have happened to you and Penny if they found out you were women?"

"Well, they didn't, did they?"

"You were just lucky this time. Don't you ever do that again!" He was trembling with rage and, if he could have, he would have left the bike to shake some sense into her.

She refused to stave off her own anger. Who was he to give her orders? "Just because you married me doesn't give you the right to tell me what to do! Now we have another bike and armbands that we'll need to get around undetected. I think we did a pretty good job. Instead of yelling, you should be thanking me!"

"In case you haven't noticed it's dangerous here, Judy. Going off on your own goes against all military protocol!"

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm not in the military and don't have to take orders from you! I just think you're upset at being shown up by a woman!"

The lines in Don's face deepened and he muttered, "If you think that's the reason…" His eyes narrowed into slits and he took off in the opposite direction of the Jupiter without another word.

Judy was tempted to chase after him, but decided that they both needed to let off some steam before talking again. She made her way back to the Jupiter to celebrate her success with Penny.

* * *

It was quite late when the Chariot pulled into the Jupiter's cavern. Everyone was asleep except for a lone figure sitting in a chair outside of the vehicle bay.

"Are you all right?" John asked as he approached Don.

"No," was the reply. "I guess Maureen told you what the girls did today."

"She did. That was quite a risk they took."

"How could Judy be so... stupid? And to take Penny along with her?"

"I agree, Don. It was reckless, and I'll give her a stern lecture in the morning. But what's done is done and there's nothing we can do about it now."

Dr. Smith interrupted. "Now, Major, the girls did not go off on a foolhardy escapade. They knew exactly what they were doing and were well prepared, which is why they were successful in their endeavors."

Don's anger erupted again. "You knew and didn't tell us!"

"They swore me to secrecy! I saw no reason to worry you or Mrs. Robinson with their plan. Should it not have gone well, they would have communicated immediately."

"And they would have been stuck there with no one to help them! You and John were gone in the Chariot, and they took the hover bike, so there was no way I could have gotten to them. I should wring your neck!"

Smith stepped behind John and wagged his finger at Don. "Temper, temper... All went well so there is no reason to be upset."

"No reason? What if they try that stunt again? Then what?"

John interceded to stem the growing argument. "Look, Don. We're all tired and upset. I think we all know that things could have gone wrong for them, but they're back with us. Why don't you go to bed and kiss your wife because she's safe. We'll talk more in the morning."

"I'm sleeping in the medical bay. I need a sedative anyway, so I'll just stay there."

John gave an exasperated sigh. Don and Judy had so much to learn yet about marriage. "All right, Don, if that's what you want."

"Wait. What did you find out today?"

"I think the rebellion is there, but they're well hidden. We'll have to get more information on how to contact them before we can do anything else. Goodnight."

* * *

_The cave was dank and dark and they heard the rustling of wings above their heads. He and Will ignored the sound and continued to hike through the tunnels without making a sound. They encountered a split in the path and a decision had to be made. Go to the right or the left? He turned to Will, but before he could speak, a giant bird swooped down and snatched the hat off his companion's head. Long golden hair cascaded down his partner's back and he realized that he had been treading through the cave with Judy, not Will. Before he could vent his anger, the bird returned and dug its claws into Judy's shoulders and lifted her off the ground. The bird cackled an abusive epithet at him as it carried her deeper into the bowels of the cave._

Don awoke in a cold sweat, the burning sensation in his legs worse than ever. He reached over for Judy and found that he was alone. His head felt heavy and thick as he lifted himself into a seated position. Although the effects of the sedative were still in his system, he found sleep to be elusive. He knew he'd find no comfort until Judy was by his side.

He made his way onto his chair and motored into his room, carefully lifting himself into the bed he shared with his wife. She snuggled next to him as he lay down and took her into his arms. She awoke for a brief moment and smiled sleepily. Kissing her passionately he whispered, "Please don't scare me like that again."

She nestled her head against his neck and replied, "I won't." She snaked her arm over his chest and they both drifted into a soothing sleep.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_March 27, 2000_

_We've become quite the spy family as we've infiltrated our way into Marvenian society. In fact it was Penny who brought back the key to contacting Kairon. She ran into the man who had been her masseuse on our previous visit and followed him after his shift at the palace spa ended. She took a big gamble in revealing her identity to him, but he remembered her and promised to take us to Kairon. He's meeting us at the rebels' cave today to take us in. The rebellion is floundering and struggling to take hold, but the ideals have been spreading among the lower levels of society. Once they organize, they have the potential to become a formidable force._

_

* * *

_

Their contact, Ronon, was a quiet, gentle man who was a few years older than Don. Kairon had told him about what he had witnessed at the Ministry of Claims when the Counselor had married Judy and Don. Ronon's first act upon meeting the family was to rigorously shake Don's hand.

He spoke through the translator. "Major West, you are a legend among the lowest tiers of our society. In fact Appolus has tried in vein to denigrate your reputation, saying that the story is but a lie. The harder he tries to counter it, the larger your legend grows."

Don was embarrassed by the adulation and responded, "I didn't do anything a high school wrestler couldn't do. It's just a matter of training."

"Do not be so modest. It is your story, that of you and Miss Judy, that has sparked the revolution. Now that you are here in the flesh, I believe that we have a chance to grow and prevail against a government that places the highest value on its privileged."

Judy muffled a laugh, as she knew he would be greeted as a hero. "Just say 'thank you', Don."

"Thank you. Can you take us to Kairon now?"

"Of course. Um, Major West, what is a 'high school wrestler'?"

Don chuckled and shook his head. "Remind me to show you some time."

After being led through a number of twists and turns in the paths below the ground, they arrived at a huge cavern that was dimly lit and housed a small number of computers and men. Judy recognized some of the men as the ones who had prepared her for her fateful trip down the aisle on her wedding night.

Upon seeing the family, Kairon immediately rose from his seat and greeted them. He bowed to the women. "Miss Judy and Mrs. Robinson. Penny, you are growing into a lovely young woman." Then he shook the men's hands. "Professor Robinson and my friend, Major West! It is heartwarming to see you all."

"You've learned English." Don observed.

"Yes, I have had much time on my hands since you left our planet. The others who had witnessed your defeat of Appolus and I went immediately into hiding, as we were being sought by the government for obstruction of a claim. We were able to rescue the counselor who performed your bonding ceremony. He predicted that you would return to aid the rebellion, and here you are."

"Actually, Kairon, we came seeking your help."

Before Kairon could reply, a commotion was heard at the entrance to the cavern. The Counselor of Claims approached the group and stopped in front of the visitors. He crouched in front of Don and studied his face, then shook his head. He did the same to Judy, smiled and nodded.

Utilizing the translator, the counselor spoke. "It has been many, many years since I have seen a bonding as perfect as yours. Your auras were entwined and in rhythm from before you were born. I simply proclaimed what had already been destined. I see, however, that the bonding has not been a productive one. Although the woman is content, she is not with child and the man is in great emotional and physical pain. I can foresee a time when all could be well for both of you, but there is much to be done before then."

John bowed to the counselor and replied, "You were right about Don being in great pain. We have discovered a healing agent that may be of help to him, as well as to your own society, but we are in need of someone with medical expertise to help us refine the agent and administer it properly to those in need."

"I know of someone who can help," Kairon responded. "He is a trained healer and is sympathetic to our cause."

"Can you trust him?" Don asked.

"Yes. I gave the medical information Mrs. Robinson offered us to him. He has been conducting research into the women's disease with the blessing of the government. When he expanded his research to include other illnesses, however, he was punished."

"How was he punished?" Maureen asked.

"He was stripped of his right to a vessel."

"I wonder what the punishment would be if he were caught helping me?" Don muttered.

"Extermination."

This statement was met with silence. After several moments, John quietly asked, "How do we contact him?"

Don held up his hand. "Hold on there, John. I can't let anyone face extermination just for helping me. We're not going to contact him."

"We're giving him the enzyme, Don. That could be the key to changing their entire societal structure."

"Fine. Give him the bacta, but don't bring me into this."

John was fed up with his martyrdom. "You are by far the most stubborn…"

Maureen kneeled down in front of Don. "It's a package deal, Don, you and the enzyme."

The counselor crossed his arms and nodded. "She is correct, young man. It is your destiny."

Don furrowed his brow and closed his eyes. Once again, the decision was taken out of his hands. He nodded to the counselor, "All right… Darth Vader." Then he stared at John, "But we do it my way."

* * *

The makeshift lab was cleaned up and ready for the presentation to the doctor. Maureen felt as if she were back in graduate school getting ready to defend her thesis. Kairon brought the healer to the Jupiter for the introductory meeting. Maureen took note of his kind eyes behind wire rimmed spectacles and immediately relaxed. He appeared to be slightly older than John and was a tall, handsome man with white hair. The doctor nodded and shook hands with all as he was introduced by Kairon.

"Marcus, this is the Robinson family. John, Maureen, Will, their daughters Judy, and Penny." Kairon reached out and pet Carmella. "It appears that there is a new addition to the family."

Penny shyly giggled and said, "This is Carmella, the bacta factory."

"Bacta?"

Don interjected, "That's another thing I'll have to teach you about, Kairon..."

"Marcus, this is the legendary Major West."

As Don shook his hand, he said, "Please, just call me Don."

Only Dr. Smith was missing from their gathering, and for good reason. He had no desire to bluff his way through a possible interrogation by a true physician. John left to search for him and Maureen proceeded with her demonstration. Dr. Marcus was amazed at the healing property the enzyme possessed. She went into a lengthy account of their experimentation, stopping at the point where Dr. Smith injected Don.

"So you see, Dr. Marcus, the enzyme has amazing healing powers on the skin. I've reached the point where I don't have the facilities or expertise to do further testing on other body systems."

He could guess what they hoped to test next. "Such as the nervous system?"

Don explained, "Dr. Smith and I attempted to inject my spinal nerves, but there was little affect."

"Are you sure he hit the nerves?"

"Knowing Smith? No. There was no effect for a couple of weeks, then I pulled my back and this burning sensation went down my legs and hasn't gone away."

"Burning does mean that the nerves were affected. It's possible that he hit the surrounding bone or spinal fluid, which has expanded and is pressing on the nerves. I would need to do diagnostic testing on you in my office."

"I'll take you down to the medical bay so that you can see our diagnostic machine and what was already done."

When Don and Marcus left, Judy and Maureen prepared dinner, and Kairon chose to stay with Penny and Carmella.

"Miss Penny, I have never seen such a creature before. Where did you find it?"

"On the last planet we were on. It was a beautiful place with trees and waterfalls. Carmella was one of the native animals that, you could say, adopted me."

"It must be wondrous touring the galaxy."

"You've never been away from here?"

"Tier 3 males have little opportunity to leave their homes. We perform the services that keep the society's basic needs met, but receive little reward in return, other than the right to father one child."

"Tell me something, Kairon. What about love on your planet?"

"Love? I have heard Miss Judy speak of this, but I do not understand what 'love' is."

She attempted to explain, "Love is when you like someone else a lot."

"I like many people."

"But this kind of like is special."

Don's voice could be heard behind them as he and Marcus sauntered up from the med bay. "You are physically, emotionally and spiritually attracted to this other person and want to be them for the rest of your life."

"And you do not want to share this person with another." Marcus added.

Kairon was surprised at this statement. "Marcus, by the way you speak, I would presume that you have been in love."

"That I have been, Kairon."

"But you are a Tier 1 male, you have first choice of women. Why did you not choose her?"

"She was claimed by another Tier 1 male before I was of age."

"Women have no choice, do they?" Penny asked.

"No, they don't," Marcus softly responded.

Kairon quietly added, "That is one of the reasons we are fighting for a free society. Miss Penny, you were right when you said we should question our history. I want to thank you for planting that seed in my mind."

Penny's innocent smile lit up her face. "You're welcome, Kairon."

"Marcus, what happened to her, the woman you loved?" Don asked.

"She… died in child birth."

"I'm sorry. I know it's painful to love someone you can't be with, and then to lose them…"

Marcus nodded and turned away.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_April 2, 2000_

_Mom was right about this being a good trip. So far, everything is going well. We've located the rebellion and have a doctor who can work with Don and do more research with the bacta. Marcus is such a wonderful man, it's so sad that he never was able to be with the woman he loved._

_Don is with him tonight for his first diagnostic session. The facilities that Marcus uses are far superior to ours. It's dangerous for Don to go into the metropolis, though. I'll worry about him until he gets back. I wanted to go with him, but he insisted on going alone. I just hope he can be helped. At this point, we would both be happy if he could just lose the pain._

_

* * *

  
_

It was the early hours of the morning when Don's diagnostic work was nearly done. Marcus had determined that the sacral nerves were intact, but had sustained some damage from the original cave in. The lumbar nerves were another matter. Dr. Smith had hit the spinal fluid around lumbar nerves one through four, which caused it to expand, overfilling its space. He must have hit the vertebrae in number five, which caused the bone to grow and press severely on the nerves and that most likely was causing the burning sensation.

He wanted to perform one more diagnostic function before calling it a night, and that was to test the communication of the nerves by hitting each one with a small electrical shock and observing how the body part attached to that nerve responded.

"Don, I'm going to test the responsiveness of your nerves. As I hit each one with an electrode, I want you to describe exactly what you feel. Here comes the first one. Any change?"

Don groaned. "My left foot feels like its being stabbed by needles."

"Now?"

"My left calf."

"Anything on the right?"

"No."

There was a banging sound on the side of the building that caused Marcus to freeze. Don raised his eyebrows and Marcus put a finger against his lips. Don motioned for his laser pistol, and Marcus handed it over as he helped him sit up. They both prepared themselves for a possible confrontation as the noises became louder. A leg kicked at the side door and two soldiers stormed the room, guns in hand. Don shot at the first one as Marcus knocked the second one to the floor and Don disposed of him with a second shot.

"The government knows about us," Marcus declared.

"I won't let you be exterminated," Don declared.

"I don't plan to be, but I can't stay here any longer."

"Do you have a vehicle?"

"Yes."

"Let's load up as much of your equipment as we can and take it to the Jupiter. We'll figure out what to do from there."

* * *

A decision was looming for Marcus and the Jupiter's crew. A medical facility needed to be set up for him to continue his work, but the medical bay and galley would not serve his needs at the moment. A discussion was underway about the possible solutions to the problem.

"Perhaps I can relocate to the cave system that Kairon is housed in?" Marcus suggested.

Maureen was not happy about that scenario. "Marcus, they have such primitive facilities. It would be difficult to keep a clean and sterile environment."

"Not to mention the fact that they don't have a consistent, dependable source of energy. How about moving the Jupiter out of the cave and to a better site? We can set-up a generator for his use," John offered.

Don stated his opinion. "I'm not comfortable with that. The government is going to keep looking for Marcus. It's only a matter of time before they expand their search to the surrounding desert. In fact, I'm surprised that they haven't done reconnaissance missions over the desert already."

"What about the other side of the planet? There must be areas that are livable elsewhere." John added.

"Professor Robinson, you must know our history to understand, but each metropolis is its own society. We would not be welcome elsewhere. In fact, we would be executed on site if we were to enter. I know it is hard to believe, but my metropolis is the most advanced and open of the civilizations," Marcus explained.

"How are you with space travel?" Don asked.

"I don't know. I've never been in space."

"You know, for a society as advanced technologically as you are, you really have a long way to go."

"Only the most privileged have the opportunity to go into space."

"So you have tiers among your tiers."

"You can say that."

John interjected, "Don, I know what you're thinking… Carmella's planet. But there are a lot of problems with that scenario too, such as housing a sophisticated lab facility there."

"It does make sense, John, since that planet is the source of the enzyme," Maureen said.

There was silence as they each considered all the options. Judy, who was sitting on the armrest of Don's chair, leaned towards him and whispered in his ear. Don nodded, but before he had a chance to give the details of his proposal, Kairon and Ronon approached the ship.

"Marcus! Ronon heard rumors that you were captured by the government for conducting illegal medical activities. I am happy to know that you are safe," Kairon greeted.

"Thanks to the efforts of Major West."

"You will not be safe for long. You know that the government will continue to look for you. They will eventually search the desert."

Don agreed, "That's exactly what we were just discussing. I'm glad you're here, Kairon, because I have a proposal that includes you."

All eyes turned expectantly on him. "We need to establish a safe environment for Marcus to conduct his research. Protecting that medical facility is a priority, because it could be the key to winning this revolution and establishing a more equitable society. Agreed?"

All heads nodded.

"The best place to house that facility is on the planet where the enzyme is plentiful. I propose that, not only do we establish the medical piece there, but the rebellion itself."

Kairon was surprised at his proposal. "You mean transfer our base of operations to another planet?"

"It's time to get out of the caves, Kairon."

"But we cannot conduct a rebellion from so far away."

John interceded, "Actually, you can. I can work on establishing long range communications between the two planets. Don presented a good plan. You're still in the organizing stage, and this would give you a chance to formulate a stronger leadership and develop strategies so that you can take action."

"And," Don added, "You need some military expertise. I can help with that. Carmella's planet would be a good place to train recruits in both clandestine and military operations."

Kairon and Ronon considered this possibility. Ronon spoke first. "They are correct, Kairon. My suggestion is that we continue to recruit members for the rebellion, but send those ready to commit themselves to action to train with Major West and his friends."

"And how would we get those recruits there? We have no means of space travel." Kairon noted.

"We do have the Jupiter," Judy offered.

"Actually, that's not exactly what I had in mind, Judy." Don continued to explain. "The Jupiter could be parked on Carmella's land and the med bay made into the main facility. We won't be able to take it back and forth if Marcus is working in there, not to mention the fact that we'll run out of deutronium before long. I have another idea…"

He hesitated, because he knew his next statement would be met with resistance from at least one person. "I steal a ship to transport the rebellion recruits."

As expected, he received a sarcastic retort from Judy. "Oh, that will be easy. Walk up to a ship and take off," and she snapped her fingers, "just like that!"

"I didn't say that it would be easy."

She stood and faced him, hands on her hips in consternation. "No, more like suicidal. I thought you were over those tendencies."

His eyes darkened at that statement and he warned, "Don't go there, Judy."

Maureen and John knew where this was going, so she invited the men into the ship. "Gentlemen, how about some refreshments while they finish their, ahem, discussion."

Don turned away from Judy and ventured out of the cave. She followed, determined to talk some sense into him.

Arms folded across her chest, she continued to argue. "I'm not the one 'going there'. You are."

He abruptly turned to face her and pleaded his case. "I have no intention of dying. I can do this."

Her intensity increased, "But it's dangerous."

He raised his voice, "And what hasn't been?"

"This is different!" she shouted.

"How is it different?!" he countered.

"You could get caught and…" her voice faltered. "You'd be… exterminated."

His eyes searched her face and he held out his arms. "Come here."

She sat on his lap and their arms encircled each other. "Our mission was to get help for you, not to spearhead their revolution."

"This isn't just about me anymore. Like the counselor said, its destiny."

"But I'm afraid I might lose you."

"I know, sweetheart, I know… You've got to trust me. I'll do everything I can to stay safe."

She knew she had lost the argument. She leaned towards him until their lips met and tenderly moved to their own rhythm. She placed her head on his shoulder while he messaged her neck.

Kairon had been observing them from the top of the ramp. He was still curious about this thing called love and was mesmerized by their entire exchange. Marcus and John joined him.

Kairon observed, "I believe that I am beginning to know what love is."

Marcus smiled at his innocent words and noted to John, "There is much love among you. Your family is blessed."

John nodded. "That we are, Marcus. That we are."


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Plans were coming along for the transfer to Carmellia, as they had started to call their former planet. John would fly the Jupiter back, taking Marcus and the medical supplies. Don would steal a ship, taking Kairon and the rest of his men to their destination. A trip to the salvage yard would be needed to survey possible ships as well as to procure the necessary tools and parts to fix the Jupiter's landing strut. Don didn't trust anyone but himself to land the Jupiter on her wounded leg, and his priority was to be sure she was in good working order before letting anyone else pilot her into space.

There were several mechanics that were sympathetic to the rebels, and Don hoped Kairon could convince one of them to help with the Jupiter's repair. The sooner they left this planet, the better because it was only a matter of time until the government forces caught up with them. Finding the parts and tools he needed was easier than he expected. The salvage yard was not well protected, and he was free to inspect a number of ships that would be possible targets for the theft. Kairon knew one of the two mechanics on duty that day and he spoke with the man privately. The man agreed not only to help with the repairs, but also to go along with them to Carmellia. Kairon decided that he would make an excellent head mechanic for their new base of operations.

After making plans to meet later that night at the edge of the desert, they went their separate ways. Although they had been careful not to allow the second mechanic to overhear their conversation, they did not notice that he watched them intently as they left. He recognized Kairon immediately and reported his findings to the head of the Ministry of Intelligence. While there, he ran into a golden haired young man wearing a yellow armband, which signified that he was a Tier 1 male. The lowly mechanic was surprised that the man deigned to speak with him.

"Excuse me. I overheard you speaking with the officer about Kairon, the man wanted for interfering with a claim. Where have you seen him?" the man asked.

"At the salvage yard with another male. Neither wore armbands, which I thought was unusual. They spoke with the other mechanic who was on duty."

"Can you describe the other male?"

"He had thick dark hair, medium build and never left the hover bike he rode."

"And what did they speak of?"

"I could not hear the conversation."

"Do you expect them to return?"

"I believe so, Sir. They mentioned seeing each other again as they were leaving."

"Thank you, you have been a great help to me."

As Appolus left the building he thought to himself. '_So the rumors are true. The Robinsons and West have returned. Miss Judy will learn that the claim of a Tier 1 male is sacrosanct and Major West will be sorry that he ever interfered. The so-called 'legend' dies here.'_

* * *

_April 4, 2000_

_The landing strut is finally being fixed as I write. Kairon recruited a mechanic who worked in the salvage yard to help us. He's a gruff, older, man named Scotter, who was a soldier before becoming a mechanic. He's a Tier 2 man and fathered a child, but when he decided to leave the military, he was never allowed to see the child again. He is bitter about that. All he knows is that his daughter is now old enough to be someone's 'vessel'. Don took an instant liking to him and prefers calling him 'Scotty'. Too much __Star Trek__, I guess._

_He and Don are going to steal a ship to transport the recruits to Carmellia. (I guess that's the official name of that planet now.) He wants me to travel on the Jupiter, but I don't intend to be separated from him._

* * *

With Scotter's help and the right tools, the men made short work out of fixing the landing strut. The Jupiter seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as Don settled her down onto her new leg. He had spent the day checking the rest of the systems to be sure that they were in working order while the rest of the crew loaded up the supplies. The family was ready to depart and planned to do so in the morning.

As Kairon prepared to bid them all good-bye, Ronon arrived on a hover bike and breathlessly issued a warning. "Kairon, I have received confirmation that you have been seen and reported to the Ministry of Intelligence. They are searching for you as we speak."

Upon hearing this John announced, "Then we'll take off now." He pointed to Kairon and added, "And you're coming with us." He rushed into the ship to prepare his family.

Kairon, however, was unruffled. "I believe I can hide one more day, Ronon. We will meet at the salvage yard early tomorrow."

"No, Ronon, they will be watching the yard. It was a mechanic that reported you."

Scotter cursed his co-worker's loyalty to the government. "There are probably men stationed at the yard already. I was a soldier; I know they'll be ordered to shoot you on sight, and they will. Leave with the Robinsons now."

"I will not leave the others!"

This time Don commanded. "Go, Kairon. Ronon can get them together while Scotty and I steal the ship. I'll get them to Carmellia. I promise."

"I believe you, but I have a duty to them. I will not run away."

"You're not running away!"

Kairon was ready to protest again, but Penny ran down the ramp and tossed a package to Don. "Here, you'll need this." She grabbed Kairon's arm and urged, "Come on, Kairon, Dad said to get on the ship. We're taking off."

John came to the top of the ramp and waved Kairon onto the Jupiter. He saluted Don and yelled, "Take care of yourselves!"

"Wait, where's Judy?" Don shouted.

"Right where she needs to be."

"No! John, you're taking her with you!"

"She's your wife. You argue with her!"

He closed the ramp and started the engines. The ship lifted to reveal Judy dressed in her disguise, sitting on Don's hover bike. She rode over to him.

"Why do you do these things to me?" he asked her, his frown deeper than ever.

She shrugged. "Because I love you. Now, let's go steal ourselves a ship."

* * *

Ronon left on his bike to return to the rebel's cave and prepare the others for the trip. They still needed to devise a plan to enter the yard without being seen, steal the ship, travel to the cave and have seven men board, all without being noticed. Easy… Right…

Using the translator device, Scotter registered his displeasure at having a woman with them.

"This isn't right. A woman shouldn't be taking risks. She should have gone back with Ronon."

"Tell me about it." Don's mood was not pleasant.

Judy interrupted, "Now, Major, you know quite well that women can perform most tasks as well as men."

Don grit his teeth and held his tongue. The last thing he wanted to do right now was argue. She was there. He had to deal with it.

They stored Don's bike and chair in the back of Scotter's hover van and the three of them piled inside. They drove as close as they dared to the yard and stopped.

"You were right, Scotty," Don observed. "It is being guarded, but I expected more of them. Maybe we'll be okay."

Scotter turned an incredulous eye on him.

Don shrugged.

Scotter suggested, "We need to find another way in."

"There are bound to be guards around the perimeter too. I think our best bet is to come in the front door. You and Judy hide in the back and I'll drive in."

This time Judy stared at him. "The pedals?"

"Oh, right,"

"I think I should drive in."

"You?"

"I won't be recognized."

"Suppose they ask you a question? Are they going to believe that pretty little voice belongs to a man?"

"I got away with it before. Trust me, it'll work."

Scotter intervened. "We don't have much choice."

Don didn't like it, but Scotter was right. "Alright, but I'm riding in front too."

Judy gave him a brown armband and put one on herself so she could use the translator if she needed to answer any questions.

As they approached the front gates of the yard, a soldier stopped the van. Judy activated the translator.

"What are you carrying?" the soldier asked.

Judy spoke through the translator, "Salvage."

"Open up the back."

'_We're in trouble,' _Don thought.

Judy tried her best adolescent saunter and opened the doors. The soldier took a quick look, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't know how Scotter did it, but he managed to cover himself with the equipment and chair. Even she had a hard time finding him in the mess of stuff back there. As she returned to the cabin of the van, she started up the truck and puttered into the yard. Don caught her eye, pursed his lips and blew a kiss in her direction.

The soldiers didn't give them a second look, however, someone else was watching and quite interested in their actions. Their target ship was deep in the salvage yard. They pulled up and Scotter opened the doors and jumped out of the van. "Chair or bike?" he asked Don.

"Chair. Thanks, Scotty."

Scotter then drove the van around to the storage bay as Don and Judy hurried towards the hatch. A man stepped out from under the ramp with a gun pointed at them. "My you look quite different, Miss Judy. Have you tired of being a woman for your impotent male?"

"Appolus." Judy froze in her tracks.

'_Great. Now we have to deal with this s.o.b. again,' _Don mused.

Appolus reached out and snatched Judy's hat off of her head, her hair falling down around her shoulders. "Still as beautiful as ever. I see that bonding with this pathetic creature has not hurt your looks. I trust that you're still a virgin?"

"No."

"No? Oh, please, spare me. It's obvious that he isn't capable of producing children."

Don decided to take the attention off Judy. "You know, Goldie, you are getting on my last nerve. How about you drop the gun and we fight this out, man to man."

"I don't think so. I am here to take back what is mine."

Judy was furious at that statement. "Yours?! I was never yours, Appolus. In fact, it was your counselor who bonded me with Don."

Don caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. Scotter was silently approaching from inside the ship. With a little distraction, Don thought he had a good shot at disarming Appolus if he could keep Judy out of the way.

Don held up his hand and motioned for her to step aside. "Forget it, Judy. This coward won't listen to reason."

At that moment, Scotter made his presence known at the top of the ramp. That was all Don needed to distract the Golden Boy. He engaged his chair at full speed and rammed Appolus, knocking him to the ground, causing the gun to slither away from them. Within seconds he pinned him and pushed his face into the ground. "Eat dirt, you slime ball."

Scotter was beside them in a minute and quickly tied and gagged Appolus. Then he dragged him into another salvaged ship and closed him in the vehicle while Judy helped Don back into his chair and retrieved the weapon.

The three of them entered the ship and took their seats. Scotter turned to Don in admiration and spoke again through the translator. "Good job, legend."

Don rolled his eyes. "I'm not a legend. I just had a good high school wrestling coach."

"High school wrestling?"

'_Not again,' _he thought."I'll explain it to you sometime. Now let's get out of here."

He engaged the engines and crossed his fingers that the ship would cooperate. There was no way, however, that the ship could leave the yard unseen, so Don knew that the most dangerous part of their mission was still to come.

"Scotty, are they chasing us?"

"You can be sure of it."

"Then let's lead them on a wild goose chase."

He knew he had at least 10 minutes lead time on the military, so Don headed towards the northern cavern where the Jupiter had been housed as fast as he could travel in atmosphere. He then looped around the mountains, hoping that the high ridges would not only hide them from visual view, but also interfere with whatever radar type of equipment the military might be using.

They landed in front of the rebel cave where Ronon and the others were waiting. They boarded quickly, but as they lifted into the sky, Scotter spotted several ships approaching.

"Are the shields up?" Don asked.

Scotter nodded.

"I'm going to try to out maneuver them, but can you handle the weapons on this ship if we need them?"

Scotter nodded again.

"Okay, everybody hang on. Here we go."

The other ships started firing at them and Don did a barrel roll and a dive towards the planet. Two of the ships nicked each other's wings and crashed to the ground while Don did a graceful loop back into the heavens, missing the falling debris. Their shields took a hit as three of the fighting ships continued to chase them. This time, Don soared overhead in an upside down loop, as Scotter fired the weapons, hitting two of the ships. There was only one left, so Don turned the ship around into attack position and braced himself for a dogfight, but the ship turned tail and retreated.

Don let out a hearty laugh and held his hand out to Scotter. "Slap me five!"

Scotter's eyebrows shot up in question.

"That means nice job," Judy explained as she slapped Don's hand herself.

Scotter grinned and imitated, "Slap me five!" and Don complied.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Once they were safely in hyperspace, Don allowed himself to relax, and leaned back in his seat, his brow furrowed with the accumulation of stress and excitement that they had just experienced.

Judy came up behind him and massaged his shoulders, "Nice flying."

Don grunted. "Easy… All I need is a gas pedal and steering wheel."

"Kind of like me," she teased.

That brought a smile to his face.

"Pain level?"

"Fifteen."

"Hm, not good. Break time. You need to go and take care of yourself. The last thing you need right now is another infection."

His fingers curled around her hand and he brought it to his lips. "I know."

"I'll stay with Scotty until you're done, then we'll choose a sleeping berth."

"Sounds good."

As he motored away, Scotter turned to Judy and smiled. He had never seen a female interact with a man in such a familiar manner before.

"Do all men and women act like you two on Earth?"

She smiled, "If they love each other they do."

"Bah, love. That's an idealistic myth. I don't believe it exists."

"Then you've probably never been in love. But, tell me, Scotty, how do you feel when you think of your child?"

"My daughter?" he sighed. "I try not to."

"Because it hurts too much?"

He looked at her. "Yes."

"Then you know what a father's love is for his child. What I feel for Don is different from that, but it's still love. Did you ever feel that way for another woman, maybe with your 'vessel'?"

"No. Tier 2 and 3 men only procreate with their vessels. The women live with their Tier 1 male. Once the woman is with child, she's brought to the Ministry of Procreation until the birth."

"What happens to her after that?"

"She returns to her Tier 1 male, if he wants her, or is sent to another man to procreate."

"Scotty, who raises the children?"

"Fathers raise the males. The females are sent to the Ministry of Development so they can be protected. Men are allowed to visit their daughters, at least as long as they remain in good standing with the government. I had hoped to father a son, but..." He shrugged.

"And you'll never have another chance to procreate?"

"I've had my chance."

"If you could, would you want another child?"

"Nah. I am too old."

"Well, I think Don wouldn't mind if you adopted him as a son."

"Adopted?"

"Yes, it means acting like a father towards him, even though he's not your biological child."

"He has a father."

"Back on Earth, but he'll probably never see him again. My father treats him much like a son, but also as a friend. I don't think he'd mind having another father to turn to for advice."

"I don't have anything to offer him. He can take care of himself."

"Scotty, we never can have too many people who care about us."

She gave him a kiss on the cheek and left to go find her husband.

* * *

She found him sprawled on a bed with Ronon giving him a body massage. Judy was almost jealous when she saw how much they both seemed to be enjoying it. Ronon looked up from his work and greeted Judy by nodding to her.

"I am surprised at how well defined the major's muscles are, given his condition," he observed.

"He works hard at it, Ronon."

"I can see why you are so attracted to him."

"I'll admit that had something to do with my initial attraction to him, but that's not why I love him."

Don opened one eye and grinned sleepily at her.

"I am not sure I understand this thing called love," Ronon commented.

"That seems to be a common problem on Marvenius," Don mumbled.

Judy nodded. "I was just telling Scotty that caring for someone so much that it hurts when you can't be a part of their life is a form of love."

"But the love that you have for each other seems to be much more than that," Ronon continued.

"Oh, yes, much more," Judy stated.

"Not only do we love each other, but we love making love to each other," Don added.

"Now I am confused," Ronon replied. "What is 'making love'?"

Judy giggled and Don shook his head. "Thanks for the massage, Ronon. Sex education class will have to wait for another day. Right now, I'd like to make love to my wife."

Ronon nodded and left the room.

Judy undressed and lay down beside her husband. "Are you sure you want to make love? You can't keep your eyes open."

He turned over and smiled impishly. "I don't need to keep my eyes open, just my mouth."

She leaned over and kissed him deeply. She nuzzled his neck and covered his body halfway with her own. She realized that she was as tired as he was and didn't have the energy to move. "Don?"

"Hm?"

"Let's make love later."

"Sure. Judy?"

"Yes?"

"I'm glad you're with me."

"Me too."

He kissed her tenderly, and when she was ready to pull away, didn't stop. He turned on his side and pulled her even closer, kissing her more insistently this time. She kissed him back, but was too tired to do much else.

When they came up for air, she whispered, "What happened to later?"

He breathed into her ear, "How about now and later?"

She sighed.

"You really want to sleep?"

"Yes."

"Okay, just checking. I'm okay with that too. Love you later."

And then they both fell fast asleep.

* * *

The blaring of an alarm jolted them awake. Judy hastily threw on some clothes and helped Don into his chair. They sped to the cockpit.

"Scotty, what's going on?" Don asked.

Scotter didn't need the translator to understand the words. He pointed to a gauge.

"Fuel leak," Don muttered. "Do we have anything to patch it with?"

Scotty nodded.

"I'll have to go out in EVA to fix it."

"Not by yourself!" Judy exclaimed.

"I'm the only one with EVA experience, besides it should be an easy fix."

"Don, please. Don't go out alone. Suppose something happens?"

"Judy, nothing's going to happen. Now get out of my way."

She stepped aside and followed him to the hatch.

"At least let me help you get into a suit."

She doubled checked all of the seals before putting his helmet on.

"This suit's too big for you."

"Better too big than too small."

Scotty stood by with the patching material and looked away as Judy gave Don a passionate kiss. "Please be extra careful and keep in communication with me."

Scotty attached the tether and placed the repair tools in a pouch on Don's suit.

Don gave the thumbs up sign and Scotty and Judy backed away from the hatch.

The doors opened and he was out in space. He used the hand holds that lined the ship to work his way over to the fuel lines.

Judy glanced at Scotter and mumbled, "I hate when he does this. It scares the living daylight out of me."

"I… heard that, Mrs. West. Some… astronaut's wife… you are."

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah… Just… for the record?"

"Yes?"

"I love going EVA."


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_April 12, 2000_

_It won't be long before we reach Carmellia. Just another day or two, if all goes well. Now I know why this ship was in the salvage yard. I think Scotty and Don have spent more time repairing the darn thing than flying it. I was hoping that Don and I would have lots of time alone on this flight, but between teaching the men the basics of flying and talking with Scotty about creating a boot camp for recruits, he really hasn't had a whole lot of time for me._

_It hasn't been too bad, though. We've tried teaching each other our native languages. We still have to keep the translators nearby, but we're communicating pretty well now. I've been learning more about Marvenian society. According to Ronon and Scotty, the laws do support Appolus' claim over me, as long as I'm not pregnant. I can't believe that! Ronon said that, since Don can't have children he actually would not be allowed to have the right to a 'claim'. When I told Scotty about the ceremony the Counselor performed, he said that it was an ancient ritual that was no longer required by the government since the women's disease took hold. The government only kept the counselor's position to appease some of the older members of the first Tier. I haven't said anything about this to Don yet, but I'm going to have to tell him sometime._

_I think Scotty is becoming more comfortable having me around, which is a good thing since he and Don have gotten pretty close. He said that he hoped his daughter was a lot like me and that she has found a man who appreciates her. One thing he doesn't like, though, is that I don't take orders well from Don. He said that a woman should be obedient to her bond-mate. He still has a lot to learn._

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Judy asked as she entered the cockpit to find Don and Scotter discussing the role a father plays in a child's life.

"I'll give you the same answer my father gave me and my brothers and sisters when I was a kid. We'll be there when we get there," was Don's reply.

"Your father had more than one child?" Scotter asked.

"Yeah… brace yourself… I was the youngest of six."

"Six!"

"And they all grew up together, just like me and my family, Scotty," Judy added.

"I would have liked that." Scotter lamented.

"Maybe your grandchildren can have that someday?" she noted.

"Grandchildren?"

"Your children's children? You would be their grandfather."

He shook his head. "That's too much."

She took his arm and squeezed. "That's called 'family', Scotty."

* * *

A few hours later, Don and Judy were manning the cockpit while the rest of the men slept. He pulled the ship out of hyperspace. The sight of streaks of light coalescing into pinpoint stars always mesmerized them.

"Not much longer now, sweetheart," Don stated.

"Home"

He arched his eyebrows at her comment.

"Well, it's the closest place we have to home right now."

Another alarm went off on the console.

Judy rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Now what?"

"The directional sensor dish broke lose when we came out of hyperspace. That's a problem."

"Why?"

"We can't land without it."

Scotter breathlessly entered the cockpit. "Problem?"

Don nodded. "EVA time again."

The mechanic looked at the readouts. "Two-man job."

"I'll figure out a way to do it myself."

"Too dangerous."

Judy steeled herself for the reaction to her next statement. "I'll come with you."

Both men looked at her in shock.

"I'm the only other person on this ship who has been trained in EVA."

Don shook his head, "Oh, no, no, no… That was five years ago. Simulated EVA is a whole lot different from the real thing. Besides… you're scared to death of it."

"You know you can't fix it by yourself. Don't be stubborn about this Don."

He stared at her a long moment. He knew she was right. Even if he had his legs, it would be too difficult to repair it alone. And there was no way he could send anyone who wasn't trained out there. "Okay… but you do everything I tell you. Everything… no arguing."

She stood tall and saluted him. "Yes, Sir!"

Scotty manned the console while Ronon met them in the hatchway to help them put on their suits. Judy dressed first, with Don triple checking each seal. Since the suit was big for Don, Judy swam in hers. Ronon found ways to bunch the suit and anchor it so she could at least move. He helped Don into his and checked each seal, just as Don had done to Judy.

Don instructed Judy, "You'll have to use the magnetic boots. All you have to do is hold things down for me while I fix them."

"How are you going to anchor yourself?"

"I'll have an extra tether around my waist that I can tie down. You'll have both a tether and the boots. I'm not taking the chance of you slipping out of those things and floating away from me. In fact, I'll tie an extra tether linking us together for extra insurance."

"Okay."

"We're going to use the hand holds to get over to the sensor. Don't bother using the boots until you get there. They're too cumbersome. You're probably going to feel nauseous when you get out there. Just stand still and breath slowly and deeply until you get your stomach back. I'll keep talking to you to keep you focused. Let me know of any problem you have, I don't care how small you think it is. Got it?"

She nodded. "Got it."

He put his hand behind her head and pulled her lips to his. "I love you."

She gave him a nervous smile and stated, "I know… and I love you too."

Ronon helped them with their helmets and shouted, "Good luck!" as he closed the hatch behind them.

Don had been holding onto an overhead bar to keep himself up, and, once the outer hatch opened, he easily floated out and grabbed onto the first handhold. He loved the initial sense of freedom EVA gave him now more than ever, because it didn't matter that his legs couldn't hold him up out there. He turned to look at Judy and saw her eyes scrunched up in fear with 'that look', which told him that her stomach was still somewhere inside the ship. He touched his helmet to hers and called, "Judy, look at me."

She stood frozen and didn't move.

"Come on, sweetheart, open your eyes so you can see me. I'm right in front of you. Breathe."

She took a shallow breath and quickly closed her mouth.

He was getting desperate. He continued in a soft, soothing voice. "Judy, clear your mind. You're at the swimming hole on Carmellia. We're floating together. The water's warm and feels like… satin against your skin."

Her eyes un-scrunched, but were still closed.

"Your eyes are closed and you feel the sun caressing your face. You open your mouth and take a calm breath. I lean over and kiss your lips and breathe with you, in and then out, in… and out… in and out. You are so relaxed. Your arms are weightless in the water." He picked her up with his right arm and pulled her out of the hatch. "Your legs are floating and weigh nothing. It's so easy just floating here together. Open your eyes, sweetheart."

It took a moment for her to gather her courage. She felt herself being held in Don's supportive embrace and took a deep, slow breath. Her stomach had returned to her, so she opened her eyes, managed a wan smile and nodded to let him know that she was alright.

"Okay," Don said, "Grab onto the handrail. You go first. I'm right behind you."

She focused on her hands and pulled herself, one grip at a time, up the side and over to the top of the ship. It was slow going, but she reminded herself that each handhold brought her closer to finishing this job. Once on top, she had no idea where to go, but there was enough room for Don to float next to her. He guided her over to the directional dish and told her to plant her feet on the decking. He tied himself to a support and surveyed the problem. "Hold the dish out of the way, Judy."

One of the screw heads had broken off, and he had to drill the remnants of it out of the hole.

"Okay, now help me line it up." They maneuvered the dish back into place and he had no trouble screwing the dish down. He put the tools back in his pouch and gave her a grin. "All done."

"Thank God," she breathed. "Can we go back in now?"

"Don't you want to admire the view just a little bit longer?"

"Don…" her voice threatened.

He chuckled. "Okay, just lift your feet and turn around. I'll hold onto you."

She tried to unstick her boot, but it wouldn't budge. She gave it another tug, and her foot came out of the boot, but the seal between the boot and her suit didn't break.

"Hold on, Judy, I'll get it." He pulled the boot up and jammed it back onto her foot. "Tiny feet," he commented as he lifted her other boot off the decking. "Now let's go back the way we came. You first."

Things went fine until she had to shift from the top of the ship to the side. She froze again when she made the turn and was faced with nothing but blackness and stars.

"It's okay, Judy, just turn around and go down backwards, like you're going down a ladder."

She didn't respond.

He worked his way around her until he was on the side of the ship and they were helmet to helmet. He saw the panic in her eyes and knew she was in trouble. He just hoped she wouldn't start hyperventilating.

"It's alright, honey. Let go of the handrail and take my hand."

Her grip on the rail tightened even more. She started to hyperventilate, and he knew he was running out of time. The last thing he needed was for her to vomit into her helmet while they were out there. He let go of his own handhold to pry her hand off the rail and lost his grip. He started to float away from her and she impulsively let go to reach out for him. He tugged at their tether and grabbed her.

"Hold onto my back. We're okay. I'll get us in."

He pulled on the rope that tethered him to the ship hand over hand until they reached the safety of the hatch. As soon as he closed the door he removed her helmet, and the contents of her stomach came up with it. He held her helmet in front of her until she stopped retching. Then he took his own helmet off and pressed his forehead to hers. "Better?"

"No," she managed to spit out, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"You passed your initiation. All rookies throw-up into their helmets. It's standard procedure."

She hic-cupped.

"You did good out there, Judy."

She sobbed and laughed at the same time, trying not to think about what she had just done.

"Now let's go home."

**End of Part 1**


End file.
